*4.1.4 Donation-based crowdfunding*

In the case of donation-based crowdfunding, those who decide to contribute financially to a campaign take on the role of real donors, due to the fact that the financing of the activity, regardless of the amount, is carried out in the form of good work. For this reason, most of the time no budget is foreseen and, in addition, there is often no return for the benefactor, who will find satisfaction only in having participated to the realization of a project whose main objective is a "good cause."

Within this model, it is possible to distinguish two different sub-typologies according to the end pursued: some projects in fact concern private or personal spheres, while others are aimed to third parties without the purpose of profit. At the base, therefore, there is the will to support through a kind of online collection the realization of an objective that brings advantage to a part of a community, which can include not only subjects with particular social or economic problems, but also the inhabitants of a circumscribed one territorial area (e.g., public events). An example of donation-based crowdfunding, even for no humanitarian purposes, was recorded in the political sphere and, in particular, during the election period in the United States of America: on this occasion, a targeted campaign was promoted to the re-election of President Barack Obama [15].

In Italy, the donation-based crowdfunding legislation generally refers to the donation regulation contained in the Civil Code.
